Funerals for presumed dead

kuatolives

Gonzo Journalist
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 21, 2006
Messages
285
Reaction score
45
Do they actually bury anything or just put up a headstone?
 

CACTUSWENDY

An old, sappy, and happy one.
Kind Benefactor
Requiescat In Pace
Registered
Joined
Feb 12, 2005
Messages
12,860
Reaction score
1,667
Location
Sunny Arizona
Depends on the family's wishes. Most would be a headstone, but I can see where maybe they want to leave behind something that belonged to the loved one. Interesting question......
 

kuatolives

Gonzo Journalist
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 21, 2006
Messages
285
Reaction score
45
A guy at work here said you have the choice to bury something (a casket too), if you want as you pay for that plot of land regardless.
 

Joycecwilliams

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 5, 2007
Messages
2,087
Reaction score
1,808
Location
I'm not telling.
A guy at work here said you have the choice to bury something (a casket too), if you want as you pay for that plot of land regardless.

Hi
I'm not sure what you are asking. However I might have the answer.

You said presummed dead. Is this a fake funeral?

I am a cemetery trustee which means... I along with 2 other people enforce, and revise the cemetery regulations. Each cemetery has it's own set of rules and regulations as well as the state laws they need to follow.

Most states have cemetery organizations that I am sure you can find through google.

Here is an example of how things differ...

In the town I live in you can only be burried in a cemetery if you live in my town or have lived there at one time. We require that all graves have vaults.. they are cement encasements that the casket go in. This is required to prevent the ground from sinking. You do not need to put up a headstone, though we require 4 corner stones so that the plot is known to all. You can plant flowes on the grave etc as long as it doesn't extend the plot.

I have a friend buried in NJ. He is in a Catholic cemetery. He has no headstone, and I went and planted flowers on his grave, but had to have them removed because he didn't have a headstone. The grave was not marked in anyway shape or form.

Many cemeteries are moving away from selling plots. Instead they are selling the right to interment.

Hope this helped...
 

Kalyke

Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 7, 2008
Messages
1,850
Reaction score
182
Location
New Mexico, USA
A funeral can be cheap or expensive. From a simple cremation (about 700 $) to a huge funeral costing many thousands (more than I make in a year). I would think that a tasteful memorial service and reception would do. I would think it tasteless to "pretend" there is a body there when there isn't one. I even understand the stone thing. That is my humble opinion though.
 

Bayley

Happiness is underrated
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 10, 2008
Messages
167
Reaction score
18
If you mean presumed dead as in went out in a boat and disappeared, presumedly drowned, then you get a headstone and a coffin if that is the family's wish.

If you mean someone faked there death then you get a coffin with no-body in (but everyone believes there is).

In either case the coffin is never opened before burial.
 

kuatolives

Gonzo Journalist
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 21, 2006
Messages
285
Reaction score
45
I just have a scene where someone wants to dig up the grave of someone who was presumed dead (ie no body to bury.). The person presumed dead was MIA from the US Marines during a war.

I want the graverobber to actually dig down to a coffin, but wasn't sure if one actually existed for people presumed dead. From the sounds of it, my character CAN dig down to a coffin, even though no body exists within.
 

Bayley

Happiness is underrated
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 10, 2008
Messages
167
Reaction score
18
Yeah, you can definately have a coffin, though there probably won't be anything inside it (unless the guy's family put anything in it, like a photo, etc).

PS Just a thought, I think a Marine would get a flag on their coffin